News · Page 2 of 10
News and articles
- Why Prisoners Were Left Out of COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
Strict federal rules on research with prisoners, written after decades of abuse, kept people in prison out of the 2020 COVID-19 vaccine trials.
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies at 87
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020, at age 87, after 27 years on the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Can a Closed § 2255 or Habeas Case Be Reopened?
· Trial
Rarely, but it can happen: the Ninth Circuit held that a clear change in procedural law, followed by a prompt motion, can justify reopening a habeas case.
- People in Prison Died of COVID-19 at Twice the Rate of the Public
In 2020, people in U.S. prisons died of COVID-19 at about twice the rate of people outside, even after adjusting for age, sex and race.
- JUSTFAIR: Look Up How a Federal Judge Has Sentenced People
JUSTFAIR is a public database that links about 600,000 federal sentences to the judges who imposed them.
- Habeas Gap Delays: California's 120-Day Safe Harbor
The California Supreme Court set a 120-day safe harbor between state habeas petitions. Here is why that matters for the federal one-year deadline.
- Fewer Americans Were in Prison, Jail or on Probation in 2018
The number of U.S. adults in prison, in jail or on probation or parole fell 2.1% from 2017 to 2018, mostly because fewer people were on community supervision.
- How to Prove Your Lawyer's Mistakes Hurt You in a Guilty Plea Case
· Trial
What you must prove depends on the mistake: bad advice to plead guilty, bad advice to reject an offer, or never being told about an offer each has its own test.
- What the First Step Act Did in Its First Year
In its first year, the First Step Act shortened 2,387 crack cocaine sentences, opened the safety valve to more people, and nearly ended § 924(c) stacking.
- Can Bad Advice From Your Lawyer Undo a Guilty Plea?
· Trial
Yes: if your lawyer's advice fell below basic standards and changed your decision to plead guilty, the plea may not be knowing and voluntary.
- When Can a Guilty Plea Be Challenged? The "Knowing and Voluntary" Standard
· Trial
A guilty plea can be challenged if it was not truly voluntary or knowing, but your sworn answers at the plea hearing make that hard, so specific facts matter.
- Which Health Conditions Supported Compassionate Release During COVID-19?
During the pandemic, health conditions the CDC linked to severe COVID-19 were often the core of a compassionate release request, though a health condition alone was never enough.
- How Overuse of Solitary Confinement Spread COVID-19 at a BOP Medical Center
A man held at a BOP medical center says staff spread COVID-19 by overusing solitary confinement, against the BOP's own policy and CDC guidance.
- How COVID-19 Spread Through FCI Seagoville: An Account From Inside
By July 2020, more than 800 of about 1,500 men at FCI Seagoville had tested positive, and one of them describes how lax masking and late testing let it happen.
- Which State Offices Handle White-Collar Crime?
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows which state attorneys general handled white-collar cases in 2014 and what sanctions they saw.
- How Courts Used Compassionate Release to Fix Unfair Sentences in 2020
Once the First Step Act let prisoners file their own motions, some judges used compassionate release to cut sentences they saw as unfair, though later rulings have narrowed that path.
- A Letter From FCI Seagoville: How the Prison Failed to Stop COVID-19
A man held at FCI Seagoville wrote that unmasked staff and untested transfers spread COVID-19 through his building, after a judge denied his compassionate release request.
- Do You Need a Certificate of Appealability to Appeal a Bail Denial?
No. In the Second Circuit, you can appeal the denial of bail during a 2255 case without a certificate of appealability, though you still need one to appeal the final ruling.
- Why the First Step Act's Good Time Fix Didn't Bring People Home Right Away
A drafting problem tied the First Step Act's good time increase to a risk assessment system that didn't exist yet, so it took effect seven months late, on July 19, 2019.
- Life on COVID-19 Lockdown at FCI Seagoville: One Man's Account
In July 2020, Anthony Accurso wrote from FCI Seagoville that men were locked down, services were cut, and no one he knew had been sent home.